The Anointed: A Kabbalistic Novel

In 1491 in Spain, Don Immanuel, a Jewish convert to Christianity and a court adviser, moves to a provincial town. He immediately is disliked and mistrusted both by ""old Christian'' and Jewish community leadersall of whom are threatened by Immanuel's influence among the townspeople. Their mistrust increases when Immanuel forms a coalition of religious groups that transcends individual denominations. He soon is denounced in anonymous letters to the Holy Office of the Spanish Inquisition, which is planning to rid Spain of Jews, Moors and heretics. Immanuel is tried for sorcery and sentenced to die, at which point his prophecy of an outbreak of religious civil war in Spain is fulfilled. Too late, he is recognized as a messianic figure. Halevi, an authority on Kabbalah, discusses its teachings while arguing persuasively for religious tolerance. This is a perceptive and lucid novel with many dramatic and colorful passages. (July)